Mae Pu Kha ( th, แม่ปูคา) is a ''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...

'' (subdistrict) of

San Kamphaeng District San Kamphaeng (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand. Geography San Kamphaeng borders the districts (from west clockwise) Saraphi, Mueang Chiang Mai, San Sai, Doi Saket, Mae On of Chiang Mai Province an ...

, in

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. In 2005 it had a population of 5,969 people. The ''tambon'' contains nine villages.

Water quality

San Kamphaeng District, where Mae Pu Ka is located, is an area where the groundwater contains high levels of

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts typ ...

up to 4.8–15 mg/L. Studies found that residents' urinary fluoride levels were elevated and that the highest risk of fluoride ingestion comes from cooking rice with fluoride-containing water because of a lack of knowledge on fluoride sources and fluoride chemistry. In Mae Pu Kha Subdistrict, it was observed that the village waterworks had been completed and piped water was available to most, if not all of its households. Although residents have also dug wells in their compounds, these have generally been abandoned due to poor water quality and concerns over airborne pollution. A study also reported that many rural villagers have been informed of the risks of fluorosis from drinking high-fluoride water through outreach programmes conducted by public health workers and community ambassadors. This is also evident at the Mae Pu Kha District where villagers respond by consuming bottled drinking water instead of piped water and groundwater from wells. The municipality-managed public water plant provides free drinking water to registered households on a quota-basis.

References

Tambon of Chiang Mai province Populated places in Chiang Mai province {{ChiangMai-geo-stub